Smuggled Consumer Goods in Central Asia

Smuggled Consumer Goods in Central Asia

Background

A global consumer goods company’s affiliate in a major Central Asian market was losing market share and revenue to a competitor brand that was illegal in that country: it did not have local production or a license to operate; it was smuggled in without paying taxes.

Action

We mapped the network and found the Eastern European point of production and identified over 150 shell companies with cross-cutting ownerships that laundered money for a transnational criminal organization operating as a proxy for a hostile intelligence service. We assessed that some portion of the money could be going to destabilizing covert operations in the region.

Result

POTUS Obama called a meeting with his National Security Council to discuss our client’s case.